Doffing mechanism for gins



' APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9, i920.

LLQBQL A..A. VARDELL, DECD. H e. vARDELL. Excunlx. DOFFNG MECHANISIVI FOR GINS.

Patented Aug. 22, 1922- ARTHUR, A, VAB/DELL,

irl-innert, samouras,

nnennsnn, Lern vor nantes, Texas, BY .HIGHLAND aan OF DALLAS, TEXAS,

y onreine nnennivrsn rca sms. y

ifieaesae Original application filed August 22,

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

1919, Serial N0. 319,105.

Patented flue, 22, i922..

9, 1920. Serial No. 429,562.

T 0 all whom t may concern Be it known that ARTHUR A. VAnDnLL, deceased, late a citizen of the United States, and resident of Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, did invent new and useful improvementsin Dofling Mechanism for Gins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gins of the saw type, and more particularly to means for doiiing the separated libre from the breseparating instrument. M

All the saw gins as heretofore constructed deliver a great volume of airl as an incident of the construction and operation vof the dofling brush forming an essential part of the gin. rEhis air, charged with fine particles of lint and dust, when delivered into the room, menaces the health and efficiency. of the operators, and constitutes a serious fire risk. Attempts have been made to minimize these risks by connecting the individual gins to deliver into a common conveyor, or by air-cloning the saws by separately generated blast or suction currents, or by other expediente, none of which are wholly s uccessful for this purpose.

In the best practice known in the prior art, pneumatic doliing, or the common collection of libre by delivery into a common [fue or conveyor has resulted in unnecessary eXpenditure of power, often amount ing to four or more horse-power per gin. The rotating elements of the gin itself eX- pend much power in moving with them a great volume of air.

Vhen external pneumatic means heretofore have been employed the air-moving effort of the elements of the gin has been retained, with resultant waste of effort.

Principal objects of this invention are to provide doffing means for gins or linters adapted to operate withtless power than heretofore required; to reduce the volume of air moved by the doffer; to eect improved separation from the saws of a saw gin of fibres, .andto provide a brush doffer of improved construction and mode of operation for these purposes which shall be durable and eiiicient.`

ln the accompanying drawings, in which the invention is illustrated by way of eX- arnple by one preferred construction only,

Figure l is a. vertical detail section of a.v

gin comprising a brush doffer according to the invention and illustrating one disposition of parts cooperatingwith the new doffer; and

Figure 2 isa longitudinal section of the dofl'er brush. I n the preferred form of the device there is illustrated one instance of a new genus of saw gins in which an improved relation of the doer brush to the saws, based upon observation of a mode of operation of such brushes not heretofore subscribed to by those skilled in the art is utilized to im.- prove both the working conditions of ginneries and the economy of the recovery of libre. It has heretofore been believed that the air-current setup by the rotating gin brush employed to doif the useful fibre from the saw cylinders is essential to the function of the brush as a doffer.l It has also been believed that a relatively slight interengagement of the brush with the space between the individual saws of the saw cylinder was the best arrangement, and the losses of fibre heretofore observed due to the return of useful libre into the seed cotton or between the bars of the grate, thence to pass out through the seed-gate, have been accepted as inevitable. In the present gin a deeper engagement than usual of the brush with the saw isemployed, a much smaller brush than usual is preferred, and the function of the brush 'to move a current of air, while utilized, is no longer exclusively relied upon to create such air currents as are needed in the gin, the brush being designed to have as little function as a fan as possible, the conveying movements within the gin being controlled by suction currents exteriorly created.

Therefore, in one aspect the invention is directed to the reduction of the volume of air moved by the gin brush, heretofore thought to be unavoidable and heretofore permitted to create in the surroundings' of the gin a bad condition due to escape of air laden with fibre and with dust blown out of the gin by the operation of its elements. The present gin not only recovers all of the fibre but avoids the pollution of the air of the place in which it is installed by the device of inducing` inward currents of air into the machine and its connections at all points where it is open to the air of the room, the

Divided. and this application. led December only air-current leaving the gin being a suction current conveying l away therelatively pure lint in a closedliue. This current is of very greatly less volume than the air-current blown awayfrom the gin in thek v f volume of air at a lower velocity away from j the gin.

llt is not herein claimed broadly the newl combination ol gin parts for the purposes shown, described and claimed in said parent y application Serial No. 319,105, tiled August,

22, 1919, -from* which the present subjectmatter has been divided o n the requirement of theljatent Oilice.

Referring to the drawings,.the machine frame as usual may comprise uprights 1, side, panels, and wooden or metal longitudinal struts, etc., the end framescomprising the uprights 1 and transverse members having thereon bearings for asaw shaft 2having if desired adjustments permitting the shaft 2 to be raised or moved as wear and recutting of the saw-cylinder,made up of shaft'2 and shalt 3 0n bearings presently to be mentioned, is so arranged as to bring` the shaft 3 beneath and but little behind the vertical from the `center of saw-cylinder 2v, so that contactof the saws 10 with thebrush `5 occurs near (or much nearer than, usual to) the bottom or" th'e-saw-cylinder, for purposes which will presently appear. v

The disposition of the'brush with respect i to the saw cylinder enables the centrifugal vthrow of the saw cylinder, by, which the Vmetes land heavy impurities are thrown oli", to bey utilized to separate these motes fron. the libre clinging to the saws.

,Thev preferred arrangement is such, as more iully explained in said parent application, to permit the bearings ior shaft 3 of the brush, a concave 37 near the brush, the 'iti-ont end 65 of a suction conduit, and the rear endot' a housing plate T0 all to be adjusted vertically ports l0 ioi the brush-shaft bearings and it'or these parts. Such adjustment controls the extent engagement of the Adotteil brush with the saws 10.

Instead of thebrush asiisiialbeing ar- ,c ranged to have a tanning action'by being vbuilt up oflongitudinal rows of bristles,

thebrush may bevsoli'd, or (as shown in` Fig'. 2),- onsist of Vannular rows of bristles, each row having tufts arranged to engage at each side face of each saw. Referring to Fig. 2,y the brush 5 may cony saws 10'reduces the diameter of. the cylinder, which may be driven as usual.. A dotler brush 5 rotating with a driven` together by moving sup.

to a substantial degree.v

:gaged byi its surfaceand yshaft' 3 threadedat 3b to receive compression nuts 5b, the disks 5a having therein `turned O'rooves 5c to receive annular brushtutt strips 5d, which are cemented or otherwise fastened together, and between which the radial tufts 5e are held. The brush-strips may be thin rings otlk fibre, metal or paper, and the thickness of the separator disks may, as shown, be the distance between the saws 10, or a divisor oit this distance. ln the latter case, there are rows of tufts bctween the saws, available for use by shifting the shaft 3 endwise. To prevent the brush-strips -turning in their seats, the fastening means may include axially eX- tending` pegs, pins'or tubular rivets spaced totake into bores, formed in the, bottoms of the grooves 5C. In' the preferred forni .shown the pins 5f are fastened in Vone face.

Y erably is, much less' than in usual practice.v

Such a brush may be rotated at the usual speecs ei from 1000 to 1200 R. P. M. without blowing a strong air current thereby.

For adjustment purposes the brush is mounted in bearings, not shown, carried by and vertically adjustable on vertical slides 4-0 in ways on the frame.

The surroundings of the brush 5 are completed by an adjustable front housing plate andend plates 71 pivoted at 71 to lugs on the plates 40 and held in .place rby vertically adjustable stops 73. 'The lfront section oit the housing may be lowered for access to the brush, andy toa'djust the space 74 into which the dotler-brush centritugally ,throws the vlint into the air flowing into the lintetrunk 50.

The operation oit the machine, will now be apparent. The saw cylinder, running at any desired speed, usually about 550 R.. Pt M.,

nantly by mechanically sweeping the sides and peripheries of they saws, the'. peripheral speed of the brush exceeding that yof the saws The only air moving with the brush is that frictionally ensector of the brush ,approaching the saws and lying within Ikcasing 37 thereis no airinlet, so that the slight vacuum induced by tufts, upon the the brush in this space is lled up from chamber 28, above and behind the saws and brush, if from anywhere; on the sector of the brush following engagement with the. saws, the suction air-current into trunk 50 exceeds the effort of the brush to fan a current of air.

rlhe action of the tufts of the brush on the lint to be doffed is thus purely mechanical and results in clearing more deeply than heretofore the space between the saws of the lint traveling in this space, and throwing olf centrifugally all of the lint affected by the brush into the space at and within the suction-passage leading into trunk 50.

TWhen the saws, or the brush, or both, are worn by use, the shaft 3 may be adjusted with respect to the concave 37 to maintain the relation of the brush to the concave, and the slides 40 lifted to position the trunk 50, the plate 70, the concave 37, and the brush 5 properly in relation to the new diameters of saw, or brush, or both. The useful life of a brush is greatly increased by this provision, and by providing reserve circles of tufts between each pair of saws, as above mentioned, the life of the assembled brush may be doubled.

What is claimed is:

l.. The combination with a suction gin of a doffer brush comprising a peripherally imperforate cylinder having axially spaced, annular series of bristles secured thereto.

2. n combination with a gin saw, a doffer brush comprising an isolated and substantially uninterrupted axially narrow circumferential row of brush tufts arranged substantially in the plane of said saw, the parts being so constructed and arranged that the edge of the saw cuts deeply into the row of bristles.

3. In combination with a saw cylinder comprising a series of saws, a doffer brush comprising a peripherally imperforate cyl indcr having a series of axially spaced annular rows of brush bristles so constructed and arranged as respectively to lie opposite corresponding saws.

Ll. ln combination with a gin saw cyl= inder, a doffer brush comprising an imperforate cylinder provided with tufts arranged in unbroken, axially spaced, annular series, whereby to minimize air resistance to rotation of the brush.

5. In combination with a gin saw cylinder, a doffer brush comprising internally annularly grooved spacer disks, annular brush strips having projecting tufts seated in said grooves, and means for holding said parts in assembled relation on a shaft.

6. In combination with a series of gin saws, a doer brush comprising a peripherally imperforate cylinder provided with a number of axially narrow and unbroken peripheral circles of brush tufts, and means adapted to position and rotate each circle of tufts in engagement with the periphery of and a peripheral portion of each face of each (rin-saw to be doed.

7. gin brush comprising a pair of spacing and supporting disks strung upon a shaft, said disks having annular recesses in their proximate faces, a brush strip seated within the space formed by the combined recesses, said brush strip consisting of a pair of connected annular rings having brush bristles interposed therebetween, and adjustable means for pressing said disks into intimate contact.

8. A gin brush comprising a shaft, a plurality of rigid disks strung thereon, each of said disks having annular recesses in its oppositie faces, an annular brush strip seated in the spaces formed by opposed recesses in adjacent disks of said brush strips, each consisting of a flexible supporting element having a row of bristles secured thereto, axin ally disposed pins for retaining said strips in fixed position in the respective spaces, and means for retaining said disks upon the shafts.

9. ln a gin of the kind having therein a saw cylinder having a series of spaced saws, the combination with the saws of a doer brush cylinder comprising a shaft, a series of annular brush-strips having an unbroken series of brush-tufts thereon, removable means for holding the brush-strips in assembled relation on the shaft, one annular brush corresponding to the position of each saw, and means for rotating the saw and dofler brush respectively in this relation.

Signed by me at Dallas, Texas, this 4th day of December 1920.

HIGHLAND GED VARDELL, Ewecutrz'm under the last 'LU/ZZ and testament of Arthur' A. Vardell, deceased. 

